Everything is getting connected, and business gets complex. To survive, look at your business, IT and networks as one. To thrive, see how they connect and affect each other. To stay ahead? You need to get the whole picture.

Film series: ICT leaders on the history of mobile broadband

Mobile broadband has a young but eventful history, and looks set to transform business and society. So we asked leading figures from Ericsson and the ICT world to tell the story of the technology as they see it. The resulting five-part film and article series covers everything from the birth of mobile broadband to its current role in leading the journey to the Networked Society.

Part 1 looks at how mobile broadband began as a technological experiment. Yet it triggered enough excitement and interest to merit further development even while the industry in general remained focused on 2G technology.

Part 2 examines a period of huge momentum for the technology, from the late 1990s to the first rollouts of the early 2000s. Contributors reflect on the interest from operators and internet entrepreneurs in the revenue-generating potential of mobile broadband.

Part 3 looks at how that interest resulted in intense battles for 3G spectrum but also the subsequent realization that the technology couldn’t live up to the hype. As a result, the bubble burst. Despite the setback, the technology continued to evolve. The first signs of recovery came with the emergence of HSPA technology.

Part 4 examines how continuing advances in HSPA, alongside the emergence of smartphones and applications, were defining steps forward for mobile broadband. The resulting user experience led to tremendous growth in mobile-broadband subscriber numbers. Ericsson predicts that this continuing trend will result in 5 billion mobile broadband subscriptions globally by 2015.

Part 5 looks to the future, with contributors saying that despite the many benefits the technology has delivered, we are only seeing the beginnings of what it can really achieve. Ericsson President and CEO Hans Vestberg looks at the impact of smartphones as evidence of how quickly mobile broadband is changing mobile behavior.